Bütcher – On Fowl of Tyrant Wing

Third album. Always that bloody third album. In a couple of cases the debut is “this is what we can do at the moment”, with the second album the experiences, growth and not making the same mistakes again are being showcased on the second one; ‘666 Goats Carry My Chariot’. If that one gets a lot of praise and notice, especially online, a certain veil of expectation is there when the third album gets announced. succeed in keeping going strong or are the expectations too high?

The third album of these Belgian Old School rippers seems to be a tale of two approaches. The first couple of tracks are Black/Speed Metal and the last part of ‘On Fowl of Tyrant Wing’ can be considered a mix of their Black and Speed Metal, along with NWOBHM, Death, Thrash, Hard Rock, 80s Extreme…you name it, it is in there.

On tracks like ‘Speed Metal Samurai’, ‘Blessed by the Blade’ and ‘Koraktor’s Iron Rule’ you hear the Bütcher you expect to hear; a bit sloppy, a bit chaotic but Black/Speed Metal filled with energy. Nothing wrong with it, but there is no follow up concerning the level of ‘Iron Bitch (Unholy Wielder of the Blade)’ in my opinion. The second part, the hodgepodge,  so to speak, has an Egyptian/Arabic theme during the Thrashy ‘A Gypsy’s Tale (Of Sex and Seance)’, along with a growl and typical King Diamond vocal lines. On the other hand one can engage in a “Guess That Iron Maiden melody” game during ‘A Sacrifice to Satan’s Spawn’ which contains huge winks towards ‘Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘The Ides of March’ to name a few.

All in all, it shows a very diverse side of Bütcher, but for me  ‘On Fowl of Tyrant Wing’ lacks cohesion as a whole. And with the lack of online buzz and people around me aren’t talking about this album like they did with ‘666 Goats Carry My Chariot’, I think I’m not the only one. Not a bad album, but also not that all-conquering killer album most expected it should be.

I can imagine Bütcher is a direct hit on stage, with the fist-in-the-air-energy and certain catchiness, but I don’t think ‘On Fowl of Tyrant Wing’ has or will have the same impact as ‘666 Goats Carry My Chariot’. There is always next time…Gadget…next time!